As Anthony was about to head down, Benjamin reached out to stop him.
“Tony, let me go first,” he said as he looked worried.
Anthony gazed at him and feigned nonchalance. “Why? Do you not trust me or the rope?”
“That's not it,” Benjamin responded. I was worried about him.
“That's enough. I won't argue with you if we are elsewhere, but today, I'm your elder brother. I'll go first, and you'll be the second.” With that said, he didn't give Benjamin a chance to speak and walked past him to grab the rope.
He was acting like the elder brother he was.
Indeed, Benjamin fell silent and shot Anthony an indescribable look.
After Anthony went down, he inched nearer and urged, “Hold on tight. Be careful!”
Anthony glanced at him and turned to look at the ground. A corner of his lips lifted as he said, “Don't worry. I'll be fine.” Grabbing the rope, he lowered himself slowly.
Benjamin held the rope rightly and stared at Anthony, afraid that the latter would be in danger.
He only heaved a sigh of relief when Anthony landed on the ground safely.
“You can come down now,” Anthony's voice rang from his watch.
“Got it!” Benjamin replied.
“Be careful. I'll meet you down here,” Anthony told him. Benjamin flashed a grin. Without hesitation, he leaped out to hold the rope and lowered himself to the ground.
There was no hesitation on his end at all.
Anthony stared at Benjamin. He trusted that Benjamin was able to complete the feat but couldn't stop himself from worrying.
Fortunately, they had learned rock climbing previously and weren't afraid of heights. They were also good at leveraging their weights, so Benjamin soon reached the ground.
Anthony's lips curled. “Not bad. That was a good drop. You were two seconds faster than me.”
Benjamin turned over his shoulder. “You'll be fast if you get to be the second one.”
“I can't believe you didn't feel a sense of superiority over me!”
“I prefer a fair competition,” Benjamin replied.
Anthony chuckled. “Fine. I'll give you a chance for a fair competition next time!”
Benjamin looked down. “Anytime!”
Anthony immediately chirped, “No matter what, you're still my younger brother. That won't change.”
Benjamin fell silent.
Seeing that, Anthony burst out laughing.
It was a joyful victory for him.
Benjamin remained unfazed. “I can't decide to be born first, but I can be first for everything I do in life. Anthony, just you wait. I won't lose to you!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Of course!”
“Okay. I shall wait for that day to come!”
Benjamin glanced at him. “Let's go.”
The brothers chatted as they headed out.
As they had assumed it was a successful escape, they were shocked to see some people appearing at the door.
“Why is this happening?” Benjamin asked in a voice so low that only both of them could hear.
Anthony clenched his jaw and muttered, “How would I know?”
They exchanged a look and immediately spun on their heels to run in different directions.
That was how in sync they were.
The people at the door were surprised to see them escape. They then separated into two teams to go after the kids.
Ten minutes later, Anthony and Benjamin reunited again, each accompanied by dozens of men.
They shared a dejected look, having failed to flee the scene.
Before they could say anything, Dave showed up.
“Mr. Dave!” Anthony greeted him at once.
Dave glanced at them before looking at the men. “You may leave now.”
The men filed away as told.
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